Imperial Brands (IMB)

[idpickering]

Final Results.

Business Highlights

o Five-year strategy on track and delivering improved operational performance

o Aggregate market share for top-five combustible markets up 35bps - first annual share gain in >five years

o Next generation products (NGP) net revenue up 11% driven by market launches in all categories

o Strong adjusted operating cash conversion of 102% enables balance sheet to reach target leverage of 2.0x

o Increased shareholder returns with 1.5% growth in dividend enhanced by an ongoing £1 billion share buyback

o Embedding of culture changes continues, with all 26,000 Imperial colleagues set to complete training in our new purpose, vision and behaviours by calendar year-end

And later;

Dividend payments

The Group paid two interim dividends of 21.27 pence per share in June and September 2022.

The Board has approved a further interim dividend of 49.31 pence per share and will propose a final dividend of 49.32 pence per share bringing the total dividend for the year to 141.17 pence. This represents a 1.5% increase to the amount of 139.08 pence per share paid in the prior year and is in line with the Group's progressive dividend policy.

The annual dividend represents a payout ratio of 53.2% with respect to basic earnings per share.

The third interim dividend will be paid on 30 December 2022 to shareholders registered on 25 November 2022. Subject to AGM approval, the proposed final dividend will be paid on 31 March 2023 to shareholders registered on 17 February 2023.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/imperial- ... 00053891G/

Ian.

[Dod101]

No other comments on these results which seem pretty much as expected I would have thought. The profit is down, presumably because of their exit from Russia, with the result that there is only a very modest increase in the dividend. Their share buyback should help the dividend per share in the future.

I am reasonably happy to hold as they, like BAT, are a good income share and the share price has recovered quite well in recent months.

Dod

[monabri]

The 'papers suggest that exiting Russia has knocked profits. It's a "one off" exceptional item which is understandable..no smoke ( ), no mirrors.

[Dod101]

The 'papers suggest that exiting Russia has knocked profits. It's a "one off" exceptional item which is understandable..no smoke ( ), no mirrors.

Yes, buried in the CEO's report he tells us that the profit is down because of the exit from Russia and the fact that last year they had a profit from the sale of their cigars business, both of which affected the comparative figures. Probably more significant, they say they have got their borrowings down to a level that they are happy with so are now able to embark on the share buyback and a (very) modest increase in the dividend.

So I am happy with the progress being made and will keep this share indefinitely.

Incidentally for anyone reading this, this is one of those shares which tends to feature in many income portfolios and would have attracted comments from HYPers in the not so distant past. I see the absence of such comments as an indication of where, as I have said elsewhere, this site seems to be going.

Dod

[simoan]

Incidentally for anyone reading this, this is one of those shares which tends to feature in many income portfolios and would have attracted comments from HYPers in the not so distant past. I see the absence of such comments as an indication of where, as I have said elsewhere, this site seems to be going.

Dod

Not sure what you mean by this? I have been holding for just over a year and I’m no “HYPer”! There’s just not much you can add to the debate for these large FTSE100 multinationals. Apart from it looking very cheap when I bought because of what seemed excessive negativity at the time, what interested me was the new CEO who did a great job at Inchcape, which I used to hold. He seems to be doing a decent job at IMB too so far.

All the best,Si

[tjh290633]

As an HYP-er, you will find my comments on the HYP board. There have been objections to such discussions here.

TJH

[Dod101]

Incidentally for anyone reading this, this is one of those shares which tends to feature in many income portfolios and would have attracted comments from HYPers in the not so distant past. I see the absence of such comments as an indication of where, as I have said elsewhere, this site seems to be going.

Dod

Not sure what you mean by this? I have been holding for just over a year and I’m no “HYPer”! There’s just not much you can add to the debate for these large FTSE100 multinationals. Apart from it looking very cheap when I bought because of what seemed excessive negativity at the time, what interested me was the new CEO who did a great job at Inchcape, which I used to hold. He seems to be doing a decent job at IMB too so far.

All the best,Si

I meant the absence of comments such as yours. I agree with you that even for a non HYPer, the share price seems to have been reflecting a very oversold position. As an income investor (not a HYPer!) I have held it for a very long time and am very happy with the way the new CEO is handling matters although how much is down to him and how much to the sector recovering I do not know because BAT has also improved a lot in the same period.

Dod

[Dod101]

As an HYP-er, you will find my comments on the HYP board. There have been objections to such discussions here.

TJH

No comments on these results that I can find on the HYP Board but no matter.

Dod

[tjh290633]

As an HYP-er, you will find my comments on the HYP board. There have been objections to such discussions here.

TJH

No comments on these results that I can find on the HYP Board but no matter.

Dod

Sorry, I thought that I had done, but it was Vodafone where I commented.

Anno Domini etc.

TJH

[88V8]

Bad news from Nanny NZ... In a world first, the New Zealand government has passed laws that will permanently outlaw the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to anyone born after 2008, creating a "smokefree generation" that will never legally be able to buy tobacco.

Let's hope this doesn't catch on.

V8

[csearle]

Bad news from Nanny NZ... In a world first, the New Zealand government has passed laws that will permanently outlaw the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to anyone born after 2008, creating a "smokefree generation" that will never legally be able to buy tobacco.

Let's hope this doesn't catch on.

Just wow! What news! Will it be effective or will driving it underground sporn a new illicit drug industry*? C.

* which doesn't pay conventional dividends

[Dod101]

Bad news from Nanny NZ... In a world first, the New Zealand government has passed laws that will permanently outlaw the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to anyone born after 2008, creating a "smokefree generation" that will never legally be able to buy tobacco.

Let's hope this doesn't catch on.

V8

Like prohibition before it, is this Likely to work?

Dod

[csearle]

Like prohibition before it, is this Likely to work?

Well I feel it will "work" for the drug dealers because they will have a new market. It will "work" for the NZ government because it will reduce smokers. It will "work" to some extent for the tobacco companies because they will increase sales of vaping products.

I personally think that persuading people to look after themselves is better than forcing them to.

C.

[idpickering]

Imperial Brands PLC second share buyback tranche of up to £500m.

Imperial Brands PLC (the "Company") announces that it has instructed Barclays Capital Securities Limited ("Barclays") to purchase up to £500 million of the Company's shares as part of the second tranche (the "Second Tranche") of its share buyback programme of up to £1 billion, announced on 6 October 2022 (the "Programme").

Under this arrangement, Barclays will act as riskless principal and will make decisions under the Programme independently from the Company. Purchases may continue during any closed period to which the Company is subject. The purpose of the share buyback is to reduce the capital of the Company. All shares repurchased as part of this arrangement will be cancelled. Purchases of the Company's shares under the Second Tranche will commence today, 3 April 2023, and end no later than 29 September 2023.

Share purchases will take place in open market transactions and be carried out on the London Stock Exchange and/or other recognised investment exchange(s) and may be made from time to time depending on market conditions, share price, trading volume and other factors.

Any purchases of ordinary shares by the Company in relation to this announcement will be effected within certain pre-set parameters and in accordance with (and subject to the limits prescribed by) the Company's general authority to repurchase shares. The maximum number of shares that may be repurchased under the Programme is 94,200,000 shares less shares already repurchased, being the number of shares the Company is authorised to purchase pursuant to the authority granted by shareholders at the Company's 2023 Annual General Meeting. The Programme will also be effected within the parameters of the UK Market Abuse Regulation and in accordance with Chapter 12 of the Financial Conduct Authority's Listing Rules. The Company confirms that it currently has no unpublished inside information.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/imperial- ... 00140434V/

Ian (I hold).

[idpickering]

Pre-close trading update: Imperial Brands on track to meet full-year guidance.

· Robust tobacco pricing and stable aggregate market share across top-five combustible markets - against a strong comparator

· Product launches across vapour, heated tobacco and modern oral drive NGP net revenue growth

· First-half adjusted Group operating profit similar to H1 2022 on constant currency basis, reflecting impact of COVID-19 unwind on volumes, higher NGP investment, and last year's Russia exit

· On track to meet full-year expectations and our guidance of growing revenue and operating profit

· Completed £523m of the FY23 £1bn share buyback, as part of ongoing programme of capital returns

https://www.investegate.co.uk/imperial- ... 00050408W/

Ian (I hold)

[idpickering]

Half Year Results Statement.

Business Highlights

o Robust pricing and aggregate market share up 20 basis points across top-five combustible market portfolio

o Next generation product (NGP) net revenue up 19.8% - acceleration driven by product launches across categories

o Volumes affected by COVID unwind and Russian exit last year; profitability impacted by higher NGP investment

o Strong contribution from Logista following recent M&A

o Dividend up 1.5% and on track to complete £1bn share buyback this year

o On course to meet our full-year guidance, with improving returns in line with five-year strategy

And later;

Dividend payments

The Group has paid two dividends in this financial year, the first being 49.31 pence per share in December 2022 and the second being 49.32 pence per share in March 2023.

The Board has approved an interim dividend of 43.18 pence (HY22: 42.54 pence) per share which represents an increase of 1.5 % over the prior year and is in line with the Group's progressive dividend policy. The interim dividend will be paid in two instalments of 21.59 pence (HY22: 21.27 pence) per share with the first payment being paid on 30 June 2023 to shareholders registered on 26 May 2023. The second interim dividend payment will be paid on 29 September 2023 to shareholders registered on 18 August 2023.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/7528150

Ian (I hold).

[Dod101]

Neither of our tobacco companies are showing much confidence these days. These results are surely uninspiring and the miserable dividend increase indicates that quite clearly. Of course exiting Russia has not helped but even so....

Re BAT we have a sudden change of CEO indicating that all is not well there either. Were I not an income investor and the tobacco share yields are too good to miss, well I might well be getting out.

Dood

[Tedx]

There's always the chance of some decent M&A activity with the tab companies. In fact, as customer bases get smaller, it pretty much has to happen eh?

And it makes sense. The manufacturing processes for onne fag is pretty much the same as another (other than the tobacco within)

It'll outlast us Dod. And that's I all I care about.

[Dod101]

There's always the chance of some decent M&A activity with the tab companies. In fact, as customer bases get smaller, it pretty much has to happen eh?

And it makes sense. The manufacturing processes for onne fag is pretty much the same as another (other than the tobacco within)

It'll outlast us Dod. And that's I all I care about.

Yes I suppose it is an illustration of a dying industry. But surely they can manage more than 1.5%? Very little capex, and advertising spend and sponsorship is pretty much non existent in the UK and no doubt other markets. They should be throwing off cash and yet Imps has increased its debt again whilst conducting a modest buyback. All sounds very strange.

Dod

[Tedx]

I guess it's the cost of keeping all those high powered legal teams on a retainer.

re: Sponsorship - well there is a fair amount still going on. They just do it smarter.

Eg Ferrari Formula One Team and Philip Morris tobacco

The Maranello team has been linked with tobacco giant Philip Morris for more than four decades, with the PMI brand Marlboro serving as the team’s title sponsor from 1997 until early 2008. However, a clampdown on tobacco advertising resulted in the Marlboro branding having to ve removed from the Italian F1 challenger. After some ingenious work, Philip Morris returned as Ferrari title sponsors with its special Mission Winnow project that was launched in 2018 with a view to a non-tobacco future.

At the end of the 2021 Formula 1 season, the Mission Winnow branding was removed from Scuderia Ferrari’s official entry name as well as the car’s sponsorship deals and of course also disappeared from the Maranello team’s sponsors list ahead of the 2022 championship when the deal ended. However, ahead of the third round of the season, the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park circuit, it was officially confirmed that Mission Winnow would come back as Ferrari team partner.

https://scuderiafans.com/ferrari-pinpoi ... ship-deal/